DJ Premier laced Penalty Recordings with a promotional mixtape back in 1995. The mix features Shabazz The Disciple's underground gems "Crime Saga" and "Death By Penalty," as well as tracks from Lord Finesse (with KRS and O.C.), DJ Smash, Kapone, MC Eiht, Blakjack, Sunz Of Man, and among others, the Buckwild remix to "Hip 2 Da Game." Uploaded years back by DJ Premier's blog. Listen...
This mix in Chris Read's 2011 Classic Material series pays tribute to the hip hop of 1999, a year which marked a coming of age for the Indie Hip Hop scene. Whereas the previous year had been dominated by leftfield and arguably less accessible indie releases, 1999 delivered more accomplished and club friendly indie releases with labels such as Rawkus really growing into their hype. At the more commercial end of the spectrum big budget albums including Dre’s Chronic 2001 delivered on expectations. Other notable albums from the year include DJ Spinna’s Heavy Beats Volume 1 and underground classics including MF Doom’s ‘Operation Doomsday’ and Lootpack’s ‘Soundpieces’.
"The more you listen to the Beatnuts, the less you hear. Stone Crazy sounds like the work of connected long-shoremen. An inside job too good to be true. Concocted deep within the bowels of hip-hop's underground, Junkyard Ju-Ju and Psycho Les have created an album that once again takes us into their bizarre world where nobody's safe, the girls look so good and punks jump up to get beat down. With their debut EP, Intoxicated Demons, and 1994's still enjoyable, self-titled full-length, Les and Ju-Ju have exhibited a strict adherence to extolling the virtues of "fucking, drinking and smoking some shit," and with their latest (minus former partner Al' Tariq), these Latin playboys continue to bring the ruckus... As always, the Beatnuts say what they mean and mean what they say with a keen eye to every blow by blow detail." Peep "Off The Books," featuring Pun, below...
"While misogynist rants are in full effect, the record does have a darker, more sinister vibe as evidenced by the album's more enjoyable songs like the cryptic "N!ggaz Know," and the unabashed male bravado that laces the body of this album. Although the beats, this time around, aren't as instantly enticing as in the past, the psychedelic samples, lush melodramatic strings, and rough 4-track textures, coupled with the ever-improving rhyme flows of the two MCs, more than compensates. You'd be Stone Crazy to sleep on this record." - The Source, July 1997.
"Since the Wu-Tang's first release ("Protect Ya Neck"), success has followed every project associated with the Shaolin crew. Each product from the album to the solo joints has seen success, even though each is notably different from the next. Now, in preparation for his solo LP, Raekwon is hittin' fans off with a sample of what's to come with "Glaciers of Ice." The production is, of course, done by The RZA, who comes with vintage Wu-Tang material. It comes off rugged and eerie, complete with gunshots and a wailing vocalist in the background. But what really makes the track is the illified watery keyboard that shimmers throughout the track. The RZA proves that he's got no shortage of beats in storage. He clearly has the formula for phat tracks." Watch the video below...
"Lyrically, Ghost Face Killer and Master Killer join in to make this another destined street hit. But Raekwon sets it off with the opening verse: "Stand on the block, Reebok, gun cocked / Avalanche rock get paid off mass murderous services / Chef break 'em, watch the alley cats bake 'em / Po-nine made 'em, drop grenades and take 'em / Quick fast we reflect like the sky be blue true / Wu-Tang saga continue." If the album is anything close to this stand out single, expect more gold to fall into the Wu-Tang Empire." - Sure Shot Single in The Source, July 1995 // Save a copy below...
This an unofficial pressing of Capone-N-Noreaga's "Married To Marijuana" and "Calm Down," unreleased joints from around The War Report days, and "Yo!" from Sadat X. I'm especially thankful for the instrumentals, since the vocal versions had been floating around for some years. Otherwise, "Calm Down" was my favorite track on this 12", featuring Tragedy Khadafi & Nas. The rumor had been that Nas (allegedly) had issues with Tragedy removing E-Money Bag's verse from the record, so he wouldn't clear the record for Capone-N-Noreaga to use on "The War Report." To smooth it over, Nas put Noreaga on The Firm album with his breakthrough track, "I'm Leaving." Afterall, his problem wasn't with Noreaga. That worked out to Nore's benefit as it helped jumpstart his solo career, and was the gateway to a lot more money. In the end, "Calm Down" is still very dope! Listen to it below...
DJ Jazzy Jeff and Mick Boogie return with Volume 6 in their classic Summertime mixtape series! The mix includes tracks by LL Cool J, Grace Jones, Rick James, Jay-Z, Kenny Dope, Super Cat, Bob Marley, Earth Wind & Fire, Super Lover Cee, Puff & Mase, A Tribe Called Quest, Tracey Lee, Frankie Cutlass, Showbiz & AG, Eric B. & Rakim, Public Enemy, Chubb Rock, James Brown, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Monie Love, Eve, Slum Village, Black Moon, Soul 4 Real, Gang Starr, D'Angelo and more. Regrettably, they added a few cuts from 69 Boyz, Quad City DJs and Ghost Town DJs that I could have surely done without, but I understand it at the same time, lol. Listen to their latest mix below...
JuJu Rogers is hip-hop artist from Berlin, Germany. 'From The Life Of A Good-For-Nothing' is JuJu's solo debut album on Jakarta Records, where he was once their first intern, now the label's latest signing. A true school vibe, mixed with soul and jazzy hip-hop, plus an effortless flow merge together styles that complement him as an album-based MC. The album's production is handled by JuSoul (who I've been a fan of since 2010), Twit One, Tufu, Knowsum and more + features from underground icon, Oddisee, and Mic Donet. One of my favorite tracks on the album is "The Story of Warren," but stream it below and catch the vibe of the full album, you can/should order it HERE.
"Let out his "cage" at a certain barbecue thrown by Extra P, Nas Escobar revealed himself as a rhyme monster to be reckoned with. Commanding a lyrical expertise matched only by a select few, he captured the collective imagination of a hip-hop world suffering from withdrawal and fiending for fresh talent... Since then, he's displayed a proclivity for complex rhyme structure and philosophical "ghetto" profundity which can easily earn him a label as the "Aristotle of Rap." Before its release, Nas' debut album, Illmatic was billed as an automatic hip-hop classic, and Nas jumped into the game highly touted as hip-hop's savior. Neither disappointed. Illmatic was a rhyme revolution coupled with a tight blend of beats created by some of the biz's top producers. The only problem hip-hop's greedy ass fans could point to was it was too short... It Was Written, Nas' second album, should shut all the "it was too short" whiners up for good... From beats to rhymes, It Was Written is a convention of some of hip-hop's hottest talents: Stretch, Primo, L.E.S., Havoc and, peep this, Dre on production; AZ, Foxy Brown, Mobb Deep and Cormega on the lyrical side." A lot of videos from "It Was Written" have since been taken down, so here's Street Dreams (remix); f#ck R. Kelly though.
"On It Was Written, Nas Escobar presents his audience with a more mature version of the man he started introducing on Illmatic. Though his rhyme style has not changed drastically, the themes, viewpoints and creative angles flaunted throughout the album are sublime. Nas reveals himself not only as a rhymer, but also as a thinker ... Nas, like most philosophers, explores the realm of ideas through stories, using example as a device to show rather than tell. For Nas, ghetto reality is a grisly one, held captive by confusion and death ... Unlike the overwhelming majority of rappers whose rhymes are as coherent as Busta Rhymes' clothes, Nas spews out line after line of lyrics so dependent on each other that, if written on paper, it reads like a short story. Indeed, It Was Written is an audio anthology of ghetto stories told by one of hip-hop's most prolific writers. If ever there was a straight up genius in hip-hop, par excellence, his name would have to be Nas. Not just a hip-hop artist or rhymer or celebrity, Nas Escobar is a hip-hop visionary." - Rap Pages, 8/96.
