The Alchemist "Paris x LA x Bruxelles" (Instrumental Album)

Last year the Alchemist linked up with Red Bull in France. They brought ALC out to Paris for a week, paid for his records, and let him craft beats in their studio. In typical fashion, he moved all his equipment to his hotel room because the studio had smoking restrictions. The idea of the sessions were to use strictly French samples, then they'd hook him up with a bunch of dope, young artists from France and Brussels to make songs out of his beats. The final piece of the project was a sold out show in France, where ALC presented each young artist and they performed their own songs, as well as the new song they'd created with Alchemist. This release represents the instrumental versions of those collaborative songs, which he says turned out dope. I haven't heard it (yet). Titled "Paris x LA x Bruxelles," it's Alchemist ... you know it's dope, check out the instrumentals below...

Masta Ace "Son Of Yvonne" (Remix Album)

Some of the dopest German producers are enlisted to remix the Masta Ace album, "Son of Yvonne." These remixes cast the project in a completely new light. Some of the producers include Wun Two, Philantrope, Retrogott, Dramadigs, Django, Knowsum, Figub Brazlevic, Dude26, Flitz & Suppe, Haitian Star and more! I remember Masta Ace working on the original project with Fat Beats at the time, but I was working on separate projects, so I never really got to dig into Son of Yvonne. The original beats were sourced from the Special Herbs series of instrumental mixes put out by MF Doom. It wasn't a direct collaboration between Masta Ace and MF Doom, so to remix these vocals and create an entirely new project from them is a fitting idea, to me. And... it works, so dig into it below...

The Genius & Ol' Dirty Bastard Freestyle (Video Music Box, 1991)

Flasback to 1991 and we have The Genius and Ol' Dirty Bastard, freestyling in a bathroom for Video Music Box. The video resurfaced a couple years back with Ol' Dirty Bastard kickin' the beatbox and The Genius spittin' bars like, "...When I begin to wreck a hip-hop tune / The crowd reacts immediately, if not soon / I'm black and proud, I move the crowd / I'm raised from Hell, yo / My lyrics alone rock the bell!" + "Some come in the game and project the hard image / But they can't never get past the line of scrimmage / 'Cause I'm on a defense, what a tough sequence / And you lack the knowledge to understand a pretense" and "You were just weak from the start / You make demos, but really don't master the art / I know ya know deep down inside you can't flow / Plus, you're backwards, when I said red, you said "Go!" / But you should've stopped, because the red was the bloodshed / But you ignored the warning and you went ahead / You tried me, G, by setting up a match / A fair one, meaning no strings attached, then bang!" The Genius' album on Tommy Boy should've been something more special than it was, but ... I'd say things worked out well in the end!

DJ Babu "Comprehension" (Mixtape, 1999)

Here's DJ Babu's Comprehension mixtape from 1999. The mix tape was distributed through Fat Beats and features DJ/Producer Babu of the World Famous Beat Junkies and Dilated Peoples, showcasing his raw skills on the 1s and 2s. There's no real tracklist for the mix, it's just Babu chopping and cutting various breaks and instrumentals, as well as a Rapsheet Battle from '94 with DJ Shortkut. The B-Side to this mix tape is produced and mixed by Kan Kick the Funky Asthmatic. It's really DJ Babu's turntablism that make this a classic - must-own - mix tape from the late 90s. Listen below...

Tony Touch "Hip Hop 36" (Mixtape, 1994)

Tony Touch was busy AF in 1994, so many classic mix tapes ... this is Hip Hop 36 via Brooklyn's Tape Kingz. Once again, Tony Touch slammed a bunch of underground gems and future classics on this mix tape. Artists like Jeru The Damaja, Fat Joe, Black Moon, Mr. Voodoo (Natural Elements), Kenny Dope, Snoop Dogg, Gang Starr, Now Born Click, King Just, Slick Rick, The Notorious B.I.G., De La Soul, Nas, Rek Shit Rebelz, A Tribe Called Quest, KRS-One, Original Flavor, Grand Daddy I.U., Strictly Roots, Del The Funkee Homosapien, and more! Dig into Tony Touch's Hip Hop 36, with updated audio, below...

Nas "One Mic" (Vibe Magazine, January 2003)

"A war of words is usually bloodless, but in South Africa, one claimed hundreds of lives. On June 16, 1976, the youth of Soweto township revolted against the white minority government's decree to impose its language, Afrikaans, on the black school system. Children died in a hail of police bullets for the right to use their native language. Nasir Jones, 29, also speaks his mind. And he knows about battles, having spent much of 2001 trading fierce words with Jay-Z in hip-hop's highest profiled lyrical beef in years. But in the best video of 2002, for his song "One Mic," Nas puts aside rap skirmishes to honor life-and-death struggles - against police brutality, poverty in the U.S., and racist oppression in South Africa. Directed by the innovative Chris Robinson, the raw yet elegant video begins on an electric night, with the bright lights of the big city blurring in time to the beat. The camera then cuts to Nas, alone in a barren room. This moment of solitude is Nas distilled: Erase the drama, the diamonds, and the disses, and what you are left with is the essence of an MC - one street poet against the world. As the song crescendos into a pulsating frenzy, Robinson's camera captures, in a powerful documentary style, a sordid scene of police harassment, followed by a climactic re-creation of the 1976 township rebellion. With just one lens, Robinson shows the universality of the fight for justice. And with just one microphone, Nas gives voice to the voiceless."

The full article written in Vibe Magazine, January 2003...

DJ Spinbad & DJ JS-1 "All About The Hamiltons" (Mixtape, 1997)

DJ JS-1 did this mixtape with Spinbad in 1997; it's called All About The Hamiltons. It's nothing like their collaborative Cold Cut Remixes mix tape, but we'll all agree it's a really solid mix of cuts from '97, featuring artists like LL Cool J, D.I.T.C., Diamond D, Busta Rhymes, Gang Starr, Big L, Organized Konfusion, Hieroglyphics, Keith Murray, Big Daddy Kane, Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz, Jay-Z, Mobb Deep, Common, Wu-Tang Clan, Soul Kid Klik, Rakim, Chubb Rock, Fat Joe, EPMD, Tha Alkaholiks, The Firm and more. This particular mix tape was only sold on cassette, never on CD or released digitally. Much love and respect to DJ JS-1, one of the most blunt and sincere DJs and producers in this whole industry. If you let him tell it though, he'll say, "No one cares." Listen to the mix tape below...

Happy New Year! The Hip-Hop Calendar (2018)

"The Hip-Hop Calendar is a 12-month calendar that documents hip-hop and the culture that surrounds it. This includes birthdays of rappers and others associated with the genre, album releases, and notable events. Each month also includes additional information that expands and gives context to the significance of these events. I included images of magazine covers on each month to serve as a snapshot of the culture at that point in time. My approach was developing a visual language that integrated a grid structure and incorporated collage elements. The grid was essential in organizing the information and the collage aspect symbolically represents bringing together all of the artists and figures throughout the years to put them on equal footing." Click HERE for all 12 months. Peace to Paul Nichols out in Oklahoma. You can sample January in the calendar below.